Empty
by Frozenleaf
Summary: Kalas doesn't have a spirit and Marno doesn't have a spiriter. A chance encounter between the two leads to a search for answers which may bring more trouble than resolution. BK:EWATLOxBKO Spoilers aplenty. Post-EWATLO.
1. Prologue

The plot bunnies didn't stop bugging me until I wrote this out. Also, well, I figured I may as well try writing BK fanfic again, since it is one of my favourite fandoms. Though it's been years since I touched EWATLO, I think I remember most of it. Though there may be some plot crucial detail that I forgot which totally undermines this whole plot bunny.

BTW, this story was inspired from that random sidequest in BKO where you have Sagi running around with some sort of heart photo copier. Never completed it, but teh guides know all.

Disclaimer: Do not own. Anything.

* * *

_"Sagi. Wake up."_

Kalas awoke with a start.

Which was strange, he thought vaguely. After all, there wasn't anything that shook him from his slumber. The sky was still as dark as when he had toppled into bed a few hours ago, with the moon slowly descending from the sky; he guessed it was sometime after midnight, but sometime before three. He lay still in bed for a while, unmoving, as he let his eyes scan the surrounding area. The room was just the way he always left it, a wardrobe in a corner and an opened window facing his direction. There was the gentle sea breeze that came at night, and the sound of the wind chimes he hung up on the windowsill echoed in the otherwise silent room. His folded winglet sat abandoned on the table, just as it had for the past year or so. Outside, he could see the dark blue night sky through the filter of leaves from the Celestial Alps, undimmed by the light of any nearby settlements.

He was as alone as ever, with nary a person nor creature within a mile.

_"Wake up." _

But that was definitely not a wind chime.

In a split-second, he was out of bed, thankful that he kept his sword magnus within reach at all times. He drew the weapon swiftly, even before his eyes pinpointed the source of the noise, only to find an otherwise empty room. His eyes scanned the room keenly- he knew he heard something. His ears had been trained to pick up even the slightest sound after numerous ambushes by wild animals and monsters during their journey, but his eyes, still adjusting to being awake, could not pick up what his ears had heard.

_"Over here." _

He turned- only to find himself face to face with a glowing white orb hovering slightly above his bed. He gave a startled yelp of surprise before he was able to point the tip of his blade at the orb-thing.

_"You're not Sagi." _

The voice- he was sure it came from the orb- sounded almost confused. It wasn't speaking, Kalas realized, not in the traditional sense of the word. In fact, it sounded almost like-

His eyes widened, and it took all his willpower to maintain a firm grip on his sword. "What's a guardian spirit doing here?" he demanded. Oh sure, he knew that the guardian spirit probably meant him no harm- but that didn't mean that it wouldn't attack him if it came down to it, and Kalas really had no idea how well he'd do against a guardian spirit in battle. From what he had seen, there were devastating when it came to attacks- though whether they needed a spiriter or not to use their power was a question Kalas decided was better left unanswered.

_"Guardian spirit? I'm not-" _Pause. _"Oh."_

The orb floated towards and around him. It felt almost like it was analyzing him, Kalas thought, standing still and trying his best not to swat away the little white orb with his sword (though he was tempted to, he wasn't sure whether it would actually work).

_"You're a spiriter."_ It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," Kalas answered. "That would be the reason why we're actually having this conversation right now." It was strange; from what Daimon said, most spirits would happily latch themselves onto the first spiriter they found- something about destined meetings and all that- but this one was simply circling around him, thinking. "What, is there something you want?"

The orb paused and moved a fair distance away, though from the way it was bobbing up and down, Kalas figured that it was studying him from tip to toe. Finally, it stilled its motion, though the waves of light continued to emanate from its core.

_"I'm looking for a spiriter."_

"The answer's no," Kalas replied swiftly- and perhaps a hint too bitter for his taste. Spiriters were always dragged into troubles of some sort or another, and after the last debacle, he was quite content with his sedentary life. Also, thinking about guardian spirits and the likes always dredged up memories he would rather forget.

_"Huh?" _the orb looked genuinely confused for a moment before catching on. _"You misunderstand. I'm looking for one particular spiriter."_

"Aaaand, I'm not it." For the first time in the entire conversation, Kalas finally felt as though he had some understanding of what was going on. "Look, I was sleeping nicely after a particularly long journey before you woke me up, so if it isn't too much of a hassle-"

_"I can't find him." _

"Not my problem; haven't seen any other random spiriters running around." He gestured towards the window with his sword. "If there's nothing else, I'd suggest that you leave my room. And my house. And probably this whole island by the way. Boat's thataway, starts around six in the morning-"

_"It's because there are no other spiriters that I need your help."_

He knew what the spirit was asking even though the question was never posed. Kalas had full intentions to ignore the guardian spirit, but there was something in its plea that made him pause. Unbidden, the memory of a girl in a dark alley, pursued by soldiers, crept into his mind. And with it, a twinge of guilt born of things that could never be changed.

Reluctantly, he said, "This has nothing to do with the fate of the world being at stake, does it?"

_"Hardly." _It sounded like the spirit was smiling, and with a relieved bob, it twirled around him once more. _"What's your name?"_

"Kalas," he replied slowly, the realization of what he just said not quite sinking in. "Will you stop doing that? You're making me dizzy-"

There was the sound of a bell chiming, and Kalas felt as though his whole body was suddenly slammed with a force equal to one of the Whale's tail flips. Odd how time dulled the memory of things like this, he vaguely thought. He saw soft, white feathers explode seemingly from nowhere, lighting up the room with a dull glow. There was the passing sensation of warmth, and then it passed.

_"My name is Marno," _A voice in his head said,_ "It's a pleasure to be working with you."_

_

* * *

_

I may or may not continue this story, though, so please leave reviews if you think I should develop it more. Or concrit. That's always useful.


	2. Chapter 1

Right. I don't expect this fic to be incredibly long, but I don't think I can update it as quickly as I would like. This is probably my first (serious) attempt at trying to write a fanfic without original characters, so hopefully everyone will be in-character and stuff and such. Anyway, chapter 1!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Kalas awoke the next morning with what felt to be hammers pounding incessantly on his head. Which was weird, because he was positive that he didn't drink anything during the party last night. Unless someone spiked the punch, in which case he felt like stabbing the guy. Over and over. Although, judging from the likely suspects, he was positive that Xelha wouldn't appreciate it if he murdered one of her noblemen. Though he'd have to find the strength to actually pull himself out of bed first.

One thing about being a mercenary (though Georg would add that the word mercenary was just another term for 'unemployed'), Kalas thought, was that you didn't really have to do anything if you didn't want to. Sure, he offered his sword up to anyone who wanted it (usually for travelling from one town to another- apparently monsters were a lot more numerous on the ground than one would have thought) but if nobody sought him out, or if he didn't wander into any nearby taverns, he had basically nothing much to do.

Though he could probably drop by Nashira and bug Gibari for a bit. It was almost time for the fishing season, and the fisherman had been saying about how he should "show the kid how a real man goes fishing" or somesuch, and well, Kalas was bored. Living in the Celestial Alps in the house Georg left him was a lonely existence. Even Savyna had called him a hermit for it- which was quite like a pot calling the kettle black, in his opinion. And he wasn't a complete hermit- he still met with his friends, attended the odd noble parties Xelha dragged him to, paid a visit to Calbren and Melodia once or twice... He just didn't feel like showing his face to anyone who'd be too eager to brand him as "that guy that betrayed his friends and brought about the awakening of Malpercio", which, after the hero accolades had worn off, was starting to be a prominent opinion of him amongst the nobility and the upper class. And knowing how things went, it would only be a matter of time before the rest of the restored world found out.

He sighed and poured himself a cup of coffee. If only his head would stop hurting so much-

_"Good morning, Kalas."_

The cup slipped from his grip and landed on the table, splattering hot coffee all over him. Fighting the urge to yelp in surprise (and pain), he turned around to see who had spoken when he realized-

"Oh."

_"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" _the voice sounded genuinely worried, and Kalas half-expected to see a figure materialize in the air beside him, hunched over his shoulder in fear.

"Nah, I just forgot you were there, is all," he muttered, picking up a nearby rag and wiping up the mess. Thankfully, the coffee seemed willing enough not to leave a stain on his furniture, though the cup seemed broken beyond repair. Kalas winced- at least he didn't get cut by any flying shards. A small miracle, he supposed.

_"I see. Sorry about the cup." _Pause. _"Did it hurt?"_

"Huh?"

_"The coffee. Did it scald your hand?"_

Kalas blinked. If it weren't for the fact that the voice in his head sounded way too deep to belong to a woman, he would have thought that, by the way the spirit was carrying on, Marno (yes, that was his name, wasn't it?) was a girl. He was just as annoyingly protective as Daimon had been, and while the latter would preen and fuss over his wounds or whenever he got hit by a poisoned spur or some sort, Marno was worrying over spilled coffee. Admittedly, it was hot, but still.

_"Kalas?"_

"Huh?" He wasn't expecting the spirit to actually be waiting for an answer, but the worry the spirit felt was so strong that it's voice alone was enough to make Kalas feel guilty. "No, I'm fine," he answered.

_"That's a relief." _And just like that, the voice went from sad to chipper in the snap of a finger. _"So where are we going?"_

"Going?" Kalas echoed. Memories of last night were slowly trickling in, but he was still half-asleep and his head hurt and the coffee he was about to drink was spilled and-

"Oh, your spiriter, right?" _Damn it all, Kalas,_ he found himself thinking. _This is why you don't make promises when you're half-asleep._ He had been looking forward to an enjoying weekend of boredom (or pestering Gibari) too... And he had the sinking feeling that he would have much preferred boredom over looking over the whole Malpercio-damned world for a single lost spiriter.

"How did you even lose your spiriter anyways?" He supposed that the spiriter might have simply forced Marno out of his heart, just like he did with Daimon, but somehow Marno didn't seem a least bit upset, so he tossed that scenario out of his head. Spirits, he had learned first hand, would rage at you for weeks if you threw them away without a good reason. And as far as he could tell, the spirit that was currently residing in his heart didn't even have a clue why he wasn't with his spiriter.

_"I dunno,"_ came the spirit's chirpy reply. _"I was just watching him go to bed that night and then the next thing I know, I'm floating around aimlessly in some weird place with red glowy trees and stuff without him." _

"That would be Nekton, the Shrine of Spirits," Kalas replied. Even with that vague description, it was pretty hard for anyone to mess that up- Nekton was pretty unusual, after all. "It's where Guardian Spirits and spiriters usually bond, or so I've been told. You probably got drawn there to bond with someone." Okay, so maybe it was a half-assed explanation, but it was the best that most Mirans could come up with as to why people bonded with Guardian Spirits at the Shrine of Nekton. Kalas had asked Daimon whether this was true or not, and she had merely said that it was where all Guardian Spirits wound up. Eventually. Including Marno, it seemed.

_"Really? I didn't know that. I just knew I didn't like it so I went off to find Sagi."_

Kalas felt the urge for his hand to punch his forehead rise, slightly. He suppressed it the best he could and tried to keep his growing frustration out of his voice. "So where were you last, then? Apart from Nekton."

_"I dunno. There was a city... and stuff." _

"You don't remember?"

_"Maybe? It's a bit foggy..."_

"You're pretty useless as a Guardian Spirit, aren't you?" he couldn't help but snark.

_"I am not! I'll have you know that I've helped Sagi in battle plenty of times!"_

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Kalas was starting to feel a bit of pity towards this Sagi person. He wouldn't be too surprised if the guy ditched the spirit on purpose. Not that he would say that out loud with the spirit listening, of course.

_"Anyway, where are we?"_

"The Celestial Alps," Kalas answered with a smirk. "Quiet place, not a lot of folk passing through, lots of monsters... Probably one of the better places if you wanna lie low."

_"Oh." _There was a pause as the spirit tried to process the information. _"How do you live then? Don't tell me you hunt down the local wildlife and eat them- they looked plenty fierce when I saw them."_

"I could if I wanted to," Kalas muttered.

_"Really? How do they taste like-?"_

"I said I could, not that I did!" The urge to hit himself was rising again- though he doubted that a spirit so ditzy would even feel any pain if he did so. "There's a place called Sheratan nearby. I go there to buy my supplies about once a week-"

_"Did you say Sheratan?"_ There was a sudden eagerness in the spirit's voice, and Kalas was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of excitement and glee.

"Yeah," he replied through grit teeth, mentally imagining all sorts of painful tortures towards the spirit. "Why?"

* * *

Kalas was starting to regret asking that question. Somehow, he found himself in Sheratan, standing awkwardly in the center of the plaza as the locals gave him curious glances every now and then. Sure, he had visited the little village before, but he had always left as quickly as he came. And sure, the locals were always wary of strangers. Yet, Kalas didn't have a doubt that what was drawing the stares wasn't the whole oddity of his presence, but rather the fact that he was talking to himself.

_"Feels like a homecoming,"_ Marno declared happily, somewhere in the corner of his mind.

"For you, maybe," Kalas muttered, glancing at an odd structure covered with ivy leaves, trying not to meet the gaze of a few curious kids. Something about Sheratan made it feel old, like it had existed since forever. It creeped him out a bit- old places always had nasty secrets buried underneath them. "So where's this Sagi person of yours?"

_"Not here," _Marno replied cheerfully.

"What?" Kalas could feel his rage rising. If Marno had a physical form right there and then, he would have socked the guy in the face already. "You mean you dragged me here when you _knew Sagi wouldn't be here_?"

_"Yup."_

"So what- why-" Rage was clouding his thought-process. Kalas had never been eloquent with words, not like Lyude, so trying to express his anger to something he could not punch was frustrating, to say the least.

_"Gena, Sagi's mom, runs the orphanage here. Maybe she'll know where Sagi is."_

"You couldn't have mentioned this earlier?" Kalas asked surly, though inwardly, he thought that what the spirit said made some measure of sense.

_"I told you Sagi grew up here, didn't I?" _There was a child-like innocence in the way Marno phrased it that Kalas wondered just how Sagi managed to stay alive with a Guardian Spirit like that. He hoped the kid never ran into any trouble needing of the spirit's advice- he'd probably be dead by the time Marno realized that there was any real danger.

"So where's this orphanage, then?"

_"Oh, beyond the Belltower," _the spirit answered. Kalas supposed that he meant the crumbling structure encased in vines that seemed to wind its way towards the heavens. _"Strange though. I thought it used to be taller."_

"Looks plenty tall already," he said, staring at the weird ruins. The shadow cast by the Belltower by the midday sun looked like a needle stretching across the plaza, pointing almost directly at Kalas, seemingly accusing him. There was something about that tower in particular that made him feel weird and woozy. He tried not to think too much about it and walked away as quickly as he could.

The orphanage was located exactly where Marno had said it would be. A few feet away from the Belltower, Kalas saw a house with a small playground in front of it, a quaint little well located off to the side. There were children playing in front of it, small boys and girls dressed in clothes that were scarcely a step up from rags, yet there was no mistaking the fact that they were fed and happy. A middle-aged lady with teal hair sat nearby, on one of the upraised roots of a giant tree, a book in hand as she glanced up momentarily to keep an eye on the children.

He was hopelessly lost, and would have expected the spirit to point out who exactly was this 'Gena' person, but when Marno remained silent, he decided that it wouldn't hurt to just ask.

"Excuse me," he called, catching the woman's attention. "I'm looking for Gena. It's about her son... Sagi?"

He wasn't sure what sort of response he expected. But what he wasn't expecting was for the woman's eyes to widen, for the book she was reading to tumble out of her hand, and for her to choke out a cry before running into the house proper and slamming the door shut behind her, eliciting numerous confused looks from the nearby kids.

_"Well... I wasn't expecting that."_

"Me neither." Kalas was stunned. All he did was mention Sagi and the woman totally freaked out. "Who was she, anyway?"

_"Dunno. She looks kinda familiar, but I can't... quite remember." _

Kalas frowned- the spirit was sounding uncertain now, almost confused. It wasn't encouraging in the least.

_"Should we go after her?"_

Kalas snorted. "You need to ask?" His first reaction would have been to just stroll away, but somehow, he doubted that the spirit would be too pleased by that. While he was sure that Xelha would probably scold him for randomly enterring a stranger's home, he wasn't about to let the quickest way for him to be rid of Marno slip away just like that.

Entering the structure, he was hit by a strong scent of Cottoncap Fruits, but what surprised him the most was the sense of homeliness that seemed to exude from the floorboards of the wooden house. Children's drawings seemed to hang just about everywhere, and there were several beds propped up in one end of the orphanage. There was a crackling fire by the hearth, casting a warm orange glow that seemed to chase away all the worries he had held ever since the whole Malpercio thing ended. In contrast to this warm scene though, there was the frightened woman from before, crying softly in a corner while an elder woman gently fondled her hair. Kalas almost felt like an intruder. Almost.

"Excuse me?"

A pair of eyes went to him, and Kalas tried his best not to let his nervousness show. The older woman had a piercing gaze, her teal eyes hardly dulled with age. Gray strands of wispy hair were tied back by a brown hankerchief, and while she was definitely old, the lines on her face seemed to enhance her looks rather than depreciate them. The way she stood to greet him was full of confidence and calm, and Kalas knew that this woman would scarcely be afraid if Malpercio himself knocked on her door.

"Excuse my daughter's manners," the woman said, polite and calm. "My name is Gena, the owner of this orphanage. I hear you've come about my son?"

_Well, that settled that. _"My name is Kalas," he said. "And well... I'm not quite sure how to explain this, but-"

_"That's not Gena!" _

"Hey, ow!" A sharp pain split through his head, and he felt his vision blur as a feeling of nausea filled him. It took him all his self-control to retain his conciousness, and when he did, he wasn't happy. "Marno, what was that for?"

_"That's- that's not Gena! Gena's only about forty-something! She doesn't look like that, I would have known if she did, the last I saw her was only a few months ago and she was injured and recovering because Shanath pulled her wings out and-"_

"Marno, calm the hell down!"

The spirit's rantings subsided, and it was only then that the pain Kalas felt in his head finally died down (or as much as it was about to, anyways). He found himself being stared at by both Gena and the other woman, both of whom were regarding him with a mixture of surprise and... dare he say it? Fear.

"L-look, it's not what you think," he began hurriedly, all too aware of how he might've appeared to anyone else. "I'm not crazy or anything! I just have a Guardian Spirit stuck in my head and-"

"You're... a spiriter too?" Gena spoke cautiously, but the fear in her eyes was slowly replaced by something else akin to understanding.

Kalas nodded slowly, relieved that at least he wasn't getting kicked out and branded 'insane'. "Yes. And the spirit I've got- Marno- belongs to Sagi. Except they got seperated somehow and now he wants me to find him."

"Find... Sagi?" Gena sighed, rubbing her temples. "I see. So that's why you're here."

There was something in the way she said that which made Kalas's hopes sink. "You... don't know where he is, do you?"

Gena shrugged, and gestured him to sit down. The woman from earlier had apparently accepted Gena's acceptance of him and wandered off somewhere- Kalas wasn't sure, but judging from the tears in her eyes as she fled, he figured that whatever Gena was about to say was a sensitive topic for her. "We lost contact about nine- no, ten- years ago. I've tried to reach him, but, as you can see, my hands are full over here. All I can hope for is that my little boy is alright by himself."

"Do you at least know where he was before...?"

"He never did say." There was an odd twinkle in Gena's eyes, a sad sort of smile on her face. "He was pretty famous back in the day, after destroying Tarazed. From what I can figure, he tried to keep as low a profile as he could. Sagi was always too humble to enjoy being lauded as a hero."

"I'm sorry, Tarazed?" That was the first time Kalas had heard the term, yet the way Gena said it, it sounded like it should have been something huge.

"It was a long time ago," Gena said. She paused, as if she was struggling to find the words to say. "A man... tried to take over the world. Sagi stopped him."

_"That sounds about right," _Marno muttered mutedly.

"He was a hero?" Kalas blinked. As far as he knew, there had been no mentions of anyone called Sagi saving the world from total annihilation, ever. Georg never told him about it, in any case.

Gena nodded sadly. "He always was standing up for others, that boy. I wouldn't be too surprised if he got caught up in something and forgot about us back here in Sheratan."

_"Sagi wouldn't do anything like that," _Marno said firmly. _"Tell her, Kalas."_

He was about to protest being used as his spirit's mouthpiece in support over a guy he didn't even know, but the sorrow in Gena's eyes seemed too much for him to bear. _I'm growing soft, _he thought silently, relaying Marno's words.

Gena chuckled. "Marno always knew him best," she said softly. "It made me sad sometimes, thinking that there was someone else who knew my boy better than I did. But he always kept him out of trouble- even if he was a bit odd sometimes."

"You mean Marno?"

The old woman shook her head. "Sagi. He used to climb up the Belltower for no reason, and his only friend was a mechanical puppet he dug up as a kid. Between Marno and Guillo, I was always worried whether he would ever be alright." She sighed. "A mother's job is to always worry, I suppose."

"So... you don't know anything about where he is, then."

Gena smiled amusedly. "Not one for listening to old people's stories, are you?"

"I'd like to get this Guardian Spirit back to his proper owner- your son- before he drives me nuts, thanks."

_"Hey, I resent that!"_

"Does it look like I care?" Kalas glared at the air above him- while he knew Guardian Spirits dwelled within the hearts of their chosen, it just made him feel better imagining Marno as a nosy bird perched on his head. "Whatever. If nobody around here knows where he is, then I'll have to go and find him myself."

With a curt nod to the old lady, he made a move to leave the house. He managed to make it to the door when Gena's voice caught his attention.

"Wait, Kalas."

He glanced back at the old woman, sitting alone in the shadows of the crackling fire. "Yeah?"

"The last time I saw Sagi, almost a decade ago, he didn't tell me much, but he did let one thing slip." She smiled sadly, her hands knitted on her lap. "I figure he probably didn't want anyone to know about it, but he did mention the name of the man he said was helping them. I... know it sounds stupid of me to trust someone I barely even know with a secret like this, but something about you reminds me of my own Sagi. And you said that Marno is with you and, well..."

Kalas was normally not one for patience. But he knew when a person was close to divulging an important secret, and he felt something akin to pity when he regarded Gena. She reminded him of Georg, a bit, with that same wistful smile that he held when he thought nobody was looking...

The old woman took a deep breath as she reached a decision. "Calbren. The man was named Calbren."

* * *

It was a quiet commute from the orphanage to the docks. Which was odd, because the spirit had been talking non-stop earlier that day. Not that Kalas was complaining, having found the one lead that he needed, but he had the distinct feeling that Marno was hiding something.

He paused for a moment, watching the seagulls fly by as he waited for the ship to Mira to arrive. The wind was cool and gentle, with an unfamiliar tinge of salt that he had yet to grow accustomed to. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that it would be a while before he returned home again, and a sense of deja vu made him remember the sparkling lights of Mira that fateful day when he left his home to release Malpercio. Two different times, two different places, two different circumstances. Yet, the feeling, that longing sense of loneliness mixed with the thrill of adventure, remained constant.

His nose tickled. For a moment, he wanted to call out to Daimon, to ask her how she felt about everything, only to remember that she wasn't there any longer. Instead, there was another spirit, hiding in the depths of his heart, a stranger by any sense of the word, and yet for some reason, Kalas felt almost as though how he understood how Marno must have felt, being so suddenly alone in the wide open world.

It was that nostalgia that prompted him to speak first. "Hey, Marno, you there?"

_"Hm?" _The spirit roused from his reverie sleepily._"Ah, yeah, why?"_

"Cat got your tongue?" Kalas smirked, plopping down on a nearby barrel (it wasn't as though anyone claimed it anyways). "You've been quiet the whole time."

_"I just..." _The spirit seemed to be struggling for words. _"The last time I saw Gena, she wasn't so... old."_

"People grow old all the time," he sighed.

_"Not like that! It's like, she aged twenty years from when I saw her last and- and-"_

"And?"

_"I feel as though I should've known that," _Marno admitted. _"Actually, I feel as though I should've known a lot of things. Like, that lady- she was Sagi's sister, I recognize her now, but back then, when we bumped into her, I didn't. For some reason, there are some things that I just can't seem to remember too well..."_

"Like where your spiriter ran off to?" Kalas remarked snidely. "It would help us a lot, you know."

_"Haha. Not funny, Kalas."_

"Wasn't trying to be." Kalas shrugged, glaring at a curious merchant who was staring at him as he walked by. "Anyhoo, what now?"

_"I dunno. Lemme think on that for a bit."_

"You can't seriously be expecting me to just sit around aimlessly while you think, can you?"

_"What else do you want me to do, then?"_

Kalas paused. "Gena mentioned something when we left. Calbren- he's the Duke of Mira, and an old friend of mine. I figure it's past time I dropped by and paid him a visit."

_"Calbren...?"_

"Name mean anything to you?"

_"No. Maybe. Sorta? Is he old?"_

"Probably," Kalas smirked. "Wears a whole lot of green too, kinda hard to miss. Sure you've never seen him before? Gena said that he helped your spiriter out somewhat."

_"I dunno. Vaguely? I remember an old man with a funny hat. Is that him?"_

Kalas shrugged, letting his eyes drift across the pier, taking in the noisy, everyday scene around him. "Everyone seems to wear funny hats nowadays. Can't quite tell until you describe it out to me-"

_"Kalas?"_

"Hold that thought," he said, pushing himself off his unconventional seat. He shoved his way through the crowd until he found that glimpse of pink, bright and unmistakable, weaving through the crowds. He tried to yell out a name, but the noise was too loud. It took all his effort to grab hold of that familiar white-gloved hand before it slipped away once more.

He was promptly thwacked by a wand in response.

"Take that you- Oh my god, Kalas, are you alright?" He felt hands pulling him up from the ground- strange, he didn't even know he had fallen. He blinked once or twice, trying to clear his vision, but his head, hurting from this morning, seriously felt as though the Whale itself was tapdancing on top of it. Could the Whale even tapdance? Man, that was a funny thought-

There was a sharp sting on his cheek, and suddenly the world re-oriented itself, and Kalas found himself peering into a pair of worried, green eyes framed by blonde hair. "Nice greeting there, Xelha," he croaked out. "Do you hit and slap everyone you meet?"

"Oh, you!" Xelha huffed, standing up. Imperiously, she offered him a hand, turning her head away to hide away that oh-so-cute blush on her cheeks. "What were you thinking, trying to sneak up on me like that?"

"Well, I tried calling you, but you didn't hear me," Kalas replied caustically, letting her pull him up (damn, his head_ hurt_). Around him, the curious onlookers had dismissed their confrontation as a lover's squabble and were already ambling back on their way. "Besides, shouldn't that be my question? What are you doing here without your guards anyways?"

The witch glanced around for a while, trying not to meet his eyes. "I- uh-"

"Came here without telling anybody, didn't you?" Kalas smirked- that sounded like something Xelha would do. Now that the world had turned their eyes to the newly-appeared continent of Wazn and their young Queen, it had been increasingly difficult for Xelha to find any time to herself, or so she had told him. Even more wearing on her spirit were the acrid remarks made about their relationship- a Queen and a weird guy like him were... an unconventional couple, to say the least. All too often, he had heard the nobility of Wazn saying that she should have found someone- anyone- apart from the guy who_ almost _(key word here) destroyed the world. Never mind that he helped save it when he came to his senses... nobles were pretty single-minded like that, Xelha included.

"I-it's not wrong for me to visit my boyfriend without armed escorts, is it?" Xelha folded her arms, glaring at him as best as she could (which wasn't much- Xelha was a person of compassion and serenity, not glares). "Besides, it's not like you'd hurt me or anything. So... so..."

"Barnette being the over-protective mother hen again, huh."

Xelha winced slightly. "You could say that," she muttered mutedly. "Anyways, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be back at home, resting. You seemed pretty angry last night, after all."

Kalas sighed. He had tried to keep his temper hidden when he left that party last night, but obviously it wasn't hidden enough. "Water under the bridge. Don't worry about it."

"So why are you here then?" Xelha arched an eyebrow and gestured around- the docks, crowded as always, wasn't exactly Kalas's favourite place in the world, and she knew it too. And now that he had established the fact that she came here because she was worried about _him_, there was little chance of her not-mothering him until she was satisfied that he wasn't about to do something stupid like charge off an awaken another evil god or somesuch to take revenge on everyone who ever slighted him- Not that he would, but it was still a possibility. And frankly, Kalas was tired of explanations, so, thankful that his girlfriend was a witch of incredible supernatural ability and not some ditz who wouldn't believe him if he tried to explain what really happened, he explained the situation the best that he could:

"Marno, say hi."

_"Hi!"_

* * *

... I sincerely hope I'm not descrating canon too badly. Anyway, read and review and stuff.


	3. Chapter 2

After much thought and consideration, I decided to give this story a little more plot than originally intended. Of course, now I'll probably be poking the gray areas of canon, so please bear with me.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The journey to Mira progressed smoothly, or at least, as smoothly as Marno could figure. They had boarded a ship which looked like was being dragged by a shell-less snail, and was painted in bright hues and colours, which had then departed on the water only to enter a wormhole that was filled with bright neon swirling lights that would have dazzled and dazed anyone who looked at it. But Marno wasn't really paying much attention to the sea-sick people throwing their lunch overboard or the random kids screaming about how awesome it was that they were travelling through another dimension.

He was still a bit unnerved after recent events- waking up in the middle of nowhere without Sagi in sight, and now, travelling across what he could only describe as a giant pool of water with a strange kid that he shouldn't have even be able to bond with. There was just way too many things that _should not _happen that were happening right now- like the fact that he had these huge blanks in his memory, and the fact that he was seperated from Sagi, and the fact that he was freaking bonded with someone else- and the guardian spirit (which he ended calling himself for lack of a better term- Malpercio just seemed wrong, somehow) was just thankful that this predicament would all soon be over. He would be back with Sagi, where he belonged, and they would spend the days doing... something and he could forget all of this ever happened.

His memory wasn't really good with recalling what they actually did the days after the defeat of Verius and Wiseman, he was starting to realize. There was something important that he was missing- it wasn't so much as an intelligent hunch, but a deep, unsettling feeling that resonated within his presence- and after meeting Gena- Gena who was _old, _Gena who had somehow aged two decades in the few years since he last met her- that feeling only intensified.

Marno really hoped this... excursion- adventure?- ended soon, and from the feelings of seething resentment that rolled off Kalas, he knew it wasn't just him who felt that way. Now that his mind was more focused, questions that he hadn't considered at the time started to bubble up. How was he even bonded with this kid? He was a portion of Malpercio that had been buried in Sagi's body- he shouldn't even be capable of leaving the malideiter, but somehow, it happened. Yet, on that night, something- some instinct, or a dark whisper- told him that he could bond with Kalas, just like he had bound with Sagi. And try as he might, he could not recall why, and that unsettled him. There were no bad side-effects so far, as much as Marno knew, but he couldn't help but feel that something was drastically wrong. And he wasn't too eager to see what happened if Kalas got too angry- while he doubted his influence as Malpercio could affect another like it had Sagi, he wasn't quite sure whether his presence here, now, could somehow change Kalas- this random kid that he just met- into a rampaging umbra if he wasn't too careful.

All these thoughts and questions went rolling through Marno's disembodied mind, and while he tried his best not to let it seep through his bond with the young spiriter, he could sense Kalas's curiousity rising. It would only be a matter of time before the boy started asking questions- questions which Marno wasn't sure he could convincingly answer without sounding like he was lying through his teeth.

So when he saw the boy's mouth open, he quickly cut in, _"Is that the Ocean?"_

Kalas knew what he was doing, and he could see the irritation in the boy's eyes, but thankfully for Marno, his travelling companion- the Ice Queen/witch/Xelha- didn't seem to notice. She flashed a smile and replied, "Yes. Is this your first time sailing on it?"

_"Kinda." _He was pretty sure that saying that saying he lived on a boat-village that floated on the Ocean when he was alive wasn't the smartest thing to do at this point of time. But the last time he checked- which, with his weird memory lapses he wasn't sure when that was- the land had been airborne, with nary a drop of the Ocean in sight. _"When did it-?"_

"Last year." This time it was Kalas that answered, and there was something gruff in the boy's voice that made it clear that it was a touchy subject. That didn't stop the boy from smirking and sniping, "You really don't remember anything, do you?"

_"T-that's not true!" _Marno huffed. If he had a corporeal form, he swore, he would have already punched the boy in the face. He wasn't used to dealing with people who had such blatant disregard for him. Sagi had trusted him completely, and so did Guillo, and by extension, Milly as well. This boy was a complete opposite of everything Marno was used to during his time as a spirit advisor, and for once, he found himself feeling like a floundering fish on dry land. And because he was a being of ominscent power who had lived over a thousand years and had effectively the powers of a god, he hated every second of it.

Pity Kalas didn't know that, or when to quit. "Oh come on, isn't it kinda hard to miss the ressurection of Malpercio?" Marno was pretty sure that it was meant as a light-hearted jibe, but it was more than enough to knock the wind out of Marno's sails. Maybe it was the underlying, dark tone in Kalas's voice, or that nervous look in Xelha's eyes when the word was said. Or maybe it was because nobody ever joked about Malpercio. Ever. Except maybe him, but that was because, come on, _he _was Malpercio, so self-degrading humor was pretty much acceptable. But there was no way Kalas or Xelha knew that so-

_"Malpercio?" _He was thankful that, for once, his nerves didn't betray him as he asked the question. And judging from the couple's lack of reaction, they didn't notice anything strange from him either.

"You seriously don't remember a thing?" Kalas sighed glumly and leaned against the railing of the ship. "He came back, almost destroyed the world, and after he was defeated, the islands descended from the sky and the... Ocean came back. And stuff."

_"Oh." _Sounded simple enough, for something that was obviously more dramatic than that. But then there were a thousand and one questions now buzzing through his head, and Marno wasn't sure which ones were safe to ask and which ones were not. "_Sounds tough," _he finally said.

An odd wave of emotions rolled over him then, emotions that left Marno feeling even more dazed than he already was, but before he could put a finger on what those emotions were, they were gone. But he could feel a flicker of familiarity in them, something that he was used to but couldn't quite remember why. Something safe, but he had no idea why or how. These weren't his emotions, he realized, these were Kalas's. And for some reason, he couldn't help but feel a little tinge of fear when he thought about it.

A bitter voice cut through his introspection, and Kalas replied, "You have no idea."

There was more to this boy than he had thought. Something involving Malpercio and the events that occured while he was apparently asleep. But Marno knew better than to poke at these things. _Maybe I should ask Sagi, _he thought. After all, something as big as Malpercio's ressurection would have merited some sort of confusion or curiousity within his spiriter. But something told him that Sagi wouldn't know the answer.

Xelha yawned, shattering the tension of the moment. It was pretty informal behaviour for what Marno would expect from royalty, but Kalas seemed to treat it as a completely common occurence.

"It'll be a while before the ferry docks in Mira," he said teasingly, smirking at the witch. "You think you can stay awake till then?"

"I'm sure I'll manage," the blonde replied, snuggling into the boy's sleeve.

"Hey, don't use me as a pillow. The last thing I need is for you to drool on my shirt."

"I don't drool," the witch retorted sleepily, her eyes closing as she clung tighter onto Kalas's sleeve. "I'm a queen. It would be bad if anyone caught me... drooling..."

"H-hey, Xelha!"

Marno couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. The boy simply glared at the empty air in defiance.

_"Alright, I won't say anything. I promise."_

"Yeah, you better," Kalas snorted. There it was- the tough facade, but underneath that, Marno could feel a sense of contentment and affection radiating off him, the dark thoughts pushed away by the presence of the blonde witch at the boy's side. A small smile danced across his face, and Marno was sure that, had he a face, he would've smiled as well.

For a moment, Marno imagined that he could see Sagi and Milly's figures superimposed over the young couple, holding each other close in the cool night air. He thought he could hear their whispered voices, the contented hearts that resonated with his, and he almost wished he could believe that _that _was reality, and he wasn't on a ship with complete strangers who were spouting things that he just got more confused by. But the moment quickly passed as the ship exited the portal, revealing Mira in all her full glittering, lonely glory, the light from her sparkling crystalline form washing over the illusion, the ghostly images of Sagi and Milly dissipating like fine mist. Marno was suddenly left reminding himself of how much he missed his spiriter, even as his new charge shook the nearly-slumbering queen on his shoulder awake.

Marno sighed inwardly, staring at Mira- where all his answers lay, and where, hopefully, Sagi was waiting for him to return. He pushed aside the worry for now, trying to convince himself that surely, _surely, _everything would be back to normal soon.

A dark whisper in his soul told him otherwise.

* * *

Marno watched on with incredulity as they disembarked the ship. While he had some inkling that he could have been in Mira before all this happened, the memories always drifted out of his grasp whenever he tried to search for them. Yet, he recalled the glimmering, crystalline lights; the whispering sound in the air of inter-dimensional spirits as they floated by, unseen. But the other things- a village made out entirely of confectionary, a path through a winding garden that made no sense, trees and flowers that vanished when you touched them- made him gape in silent awe.

"Mira's a place where the dimensions overlap," Xelha explained when he voiced his thoughts. "Things here don't usually follow the rules of reality. It's why many say that Guardian Spirits can only be found here." She nodded towards a nearby forest, split away from the path they had been following. Marno recalled it- the winding, bare trees, with red lights dangling from their branches.

_"This is the Shrine of Spirits, isn't it? Nekton?" _

Kalas nodded. The boy had been awfully quiet so far, with dark moody thoughts clouding his mind as far as Marno could sense. Yet, at the sudden question, he suddenly perked up and seemed slightly more cheerful- if that was a word that could be used to describe Kalas. "That's where you woke up, right?"

_"Yeah." _

He could sense Kalas's curiousity. _"Sorry. I still don't remember anything unusual about my trip there."_

Kalas let out a chuckle, shaking his head. Marno could feel a sense of nostalgia, and a hint of regret stemming from his thoughts.

_"I'm sorry, did I say anything...?"_

"No, no," the boy reassured him. "It's just... Daimon- my Guardian Spirit- said something similar when we came here last year." He scratched his head, outwardly presenting a figure of full confidence, but Marno hadn't been Sagi's Guardian for fifteen years for nothing. He could sense the inward regret. Something about it bothered him- and then another spark went off in his mind.

_"Did you say Daimon?"_

Kalas blinked. It was obvious that the boy didn't intend to say the name aloud, and Marno knew he was probably inwardly berating himself right now for letting it slip. "Yeah," he finally answered. "Did you two know each other or something?"

Did they? Marno couldn't say for sure. While he had detected her presence hanging over Baelheit all those years ago, heard her voice as she spoke, he had never actually had a conversation with the other spirit. Yet he felt a kinship to this unknown being, the true mirror to his false existence. She was what he was created to be- a Guardian Spirit, the being who was said to guide those who would change destiny.

_Wait._ Realization dawned in Marno's mind like a bright, Alfardian sunrise. Kalas had assumed he was a Guardian Spirit when they had first met, was completely at ease with everything that was going on. Yet, Marno never really considered the fact that he was actually a spiriter. The boy, the boy had a destiny to fulfill, he realized. But he wasn't Kalas's original Guardian Spirit- that was Daimon. The same Daimon, who, if his guess was correct, years ago, had tried to help Baelheit bring a new age to the world. Daimon who disappeared after Baelheit's death, Daimon who had bonded with Kalas. Daimon who had left.

Did that mean that Kalas already fulfilled his destiny? If that was the case, Marno could only figure one earth-shattering event that would have involved a spiriter. But then, that meant that Kalas must have fought Malpercio had some point in time. Fought _him. _Did he know the truth, he wonder? About Seph, Pieda, Thoran, Van- about him?

_No, that's enough, _he inwardly scolded himself. _What's done is done. All I want is to find Sagi. Everything else is second in priority._

"Hey, did you zone out again?" Kalas's voice was filled with annoyance, and Marno realized guiltily that he _had _zoned out in a panicked frenzy of thoughts that sprung from one name.

_"Yeah, sorry about that," _he responded, trying to squeeze as much of an apology as he could into those few words. _"What was the question again?"_

Kalas shook his head, but there was no hiding the mocking smile on the boy's face. "Doesn't matter, it wasn't that important anyways," he said with a shrug.

"Kalas-" Xelha began, a worried look in her eyes as she reached out towards him, only to be stopped by another shake of the head.

"I'm fine, Xelha," Kalas smirked. "It's not like I miss that spirit that much anyways. And look- Balancoire is just over the next hill. We could probably get there in time for dinner."

"Isn't it rude to just barge into Duke Calbren's mansion and ask if we could join them for dinner?" the blonde asked pointedly, exasperation lacing her tone. "He is an important gentleman with many things to worry about-"

"It's not like he would say no, anyway," Kalas retorted with a grin. "Now come on. The sooner we pry an answer out as to where this mysterious Sagi is, the better."

"Honestly, Kalas, you- you-" Xelha sighed, throwing her hands up into the air. Royalty didn't swear, ever, Marno remembered with a small, inward smile. "You better not throw my title around in an attempt to bypass the guards, or I swear-"

"Blah, blah, come on. I'll race you to the city gates!"

Kalas was being extremely... _happy, _Marno thought with a mental frown. Maybe it was because he didn't want to worry his friends, or maybe he just didn't want the conversation to be depressing. But whatever the case, when he mentioned how he didn't miss Daimon, Marno knew it for what it was- a lie. He missed the Guardian Spirit, so much so that in that one, small moment, Marno almost could feel the depth of his pain.

In that one moment, Marno thought, they weren't all that different from each other.

* * *

Balancoire lay nestled in the very center of Mira, a city enshrouded in fog for most of the year, as filled with mysteries as the very island it was built upon. Like everything else since their arrival, Marno thought that some of the buildings and structures they passed by looked familiar- he could recall the layouts of shops and streets that they passed through, just not too clearly. And sometimes, he was startled by the apparent ageing of certain buildings. One thing he knew for certain was that he _had _been here before, some time ago. The question now was whether anyone here could remember whether Sagi had been here. Although, that little whisper in his thoughts told him, _that _shouldn't be the question for him to worry about.

"Here we are," Kalas breathed into the misty air. Even though it wasn't that cold, Marno noticed that he had wrapped himself deeper into his cloak. Something spooked the boy out about this place, and judging from Xelha's nervous over-the-shoulder glances from time to time, she felt the same way too.

Odd, though, Marno thought. He had a vague impression of sunlight streaming through the trees on the main street as children ran past, of warmth and happiness. Even now, with the sun setting to the west and the stars coming out to play, he could never really see Balancoire as anything but a happy place. A safe place.

Obviously, his travelling companions didn't share that sentiment.

They approached the manor that lay at the end of the main street, barred by a cast-iron gate with guards on either side. It mildly surprised the spirit that, instead of demanding identification or anything like that, the guards merely took one glance at Kalas and Xelha and made way to open the gate. Perhaps Kalas wasn't kidding when he said Calbren was an old friend of his.

The inside of the manor sparked a sense of familiarity within Marno. Somehow, the moment he entered the room, he could remember how the scent of the room was, the feeling of the wood on the stair rails, the touch of the silken couches and curtains and-

_Wait. _Did he imagine he could actually feel? Marno frowned, befuddled by his malfunctioning thought processes, but nothing seemed to make sense to him. He should not even have remembered how to feel after such a long time, let alone a place he had visited with Sagi, and yet-

There was the sound of rustling fabric, and when Marno looked up, he found himself staring at a teal-haired girl in a white dress up on the staircase landing. For a moment, he could feel time stand still, and had he a heart, it would have skipped a beat. The realization slowly seeped into his mind as to what he was seeing- _who _he was seeing, and the complications of that realization slowly started to process in his mind. For her part, the young lady stood still for a while, almost in shock, before a warm smile worked its way onto her face and she hurtled down the stairs like a shooting star, wrapping her arms around Kalas in an almost desperate hug.

"Hey there, Melodia," Kalas said warmly, patting her back, completely oblivious to Xelha's annoyed glare at his side.

"It's been a long time since your last visit, Kalas," the girl- Melodia- said, finally pulling herself off the boy. "Xelha." She smiled slightly before exchanging a shorter hug with the Ice Queen. She took some time to study the two, then her eyes narrowed. "There's... someone else with the two of you, isn't there?"

Kalas chuckled. "Yup. Hauled this guy all the way in from the Celestial Alps. Turns out he's missing his spiriter. We're hoping Calbren can help us out a bit about that. But, anyway, Melodia, meet Marno."

Melodia froze as if she had been hit. "D-did you say... Marno?"

Kalas paused and frowned. Cautiously, as if he was afraid to startle the young lady any further, he asked, "Why? Is something wrong?"

If Marno had a throat, he knew it would have been utterly dry. Quietly, he responded, _"We've met."_

If anything, Melodia looked even more startled when he spoke. A small frown creased her features as she beckoned one of the nearby maids close, whispering instructions in their ears before she turned back to the weary travellers. She looked like she was about to break, with her eyes wide with shock and another unsettling emotion which Marno couldn't place.

"Lady Melodia?" Xelha asked cautiously, touching one of her shoulders.

"Come with me," she said sternly. "You probably would want- no, you need- to talk to Grandfather."

Marno was impressed- while she was visibly shaken, she wasn't about to collapse into shreds if you poked her. But her cryptic message just left Kalas more irritated than ever. The boy, his nerves already on edge at even being in Balancoire, reached out and grabbed her shoulder. "Hey, Melodia, what's-"

"Marno was my father's Guardian Spirit," she replied sharply, her blue eyes sparkling in that firm, familiar way that Marno knew all too well, then turned on her heel. "Come along. There's much we need to discuss."

There was a tense silence from both Kalas and Xelha as the click of Melodia's heels receeded into the depths of the mansion. Marno knew he shouldn't speak, not now, but something had stunned the two of them into silence, and he knew that it had to involve Sagi, somehow. In almost a whisper, he asked, _"Shouldn't we follow her?"_

"You're... not denying it then?" Kalas asked softly, glancing up at the empty air.

_"That Melodia's Sagi's daughter? No. I remember that much now."_

He must have said something wrong. Immediately, Xelha raised her fist to her lips to hide their trembling, and he could feel the roll of emotions emanating from Kalas- anger, sorrow... and pity. Bewildered, the spirit asked, _"What's wrong? Did something happen to Sagi while I was asleep?"_

Kalas shook his head, and with a deep sigh he said, "He died, Marno. He died ten years ago."

* * *

I do not like supporting the Melodia is Sagi's and Milly's daughter theory, but it just makes too much sense for me to deny it. Also, well, it helped the plot this time around. Read, review, stuff and such.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Dinner at Calbren's was a somber affair. The large table, situated in the center of the large dining room, with the looming portrait of a younger Calbren overlooking them and the glittering candle light illuminating the surroundings, seemed much too big for a small dinner involving four- five, if you counted Marno. It felt stiffling under Kalas's cloak, like there were a dozen eyes watching him. Knowing Mira, he wouldn't be too surprised if that were actually true.

Duke Calbren himself seemed older, more tired, but his face brightened up when Melodia brought Kalas and Xelha into the room, gesturing for them to join him in his meal. The maids quickly brought them what Kalas vaguely identified as a pow steak under an elaborate garnish of mirage weed and mushrooms that seemed to have eyes staring directly at him. He was famished, but something about the way the mirage weed seemed to flicker in and out of existence creeped him out a bit. He had forgotten how weird Miran fine dining could be and the taste of the food always seemed a bit weird. You could eat a steak and have it taste like fish, if it was cooked in Mira. Still, out of a certain measure of respect he had for the old duke (and his overwhelming hunger), he didn't say a thing and forced the meal down his throat.

"So what brings you here?" Calbren asked as he dabbed his mouth with a napkin, his rasping voice suddenly loud, echoing off the walls in the large room.

Kalas paused. To be honest, the main reason of their quest had already been fulfilled. After all, Sagi was dead as a doorknob, unless he came back as a ghost or something. But that only raised more questions- just who was this Sagi person? Did he really have a guardian spirit? And why on earth did Marno suddenly appear here, _now, _with no recollection of his spiriter's death?

He doubted Calbren would be able to answer any of those questions, but Marno had been deadly silent throughout the entire dinner, and if it weren't for the fact that, well, he was a spirit, Kalas would have been certain that the guy had already died from shock. Not that he could blame him though; if he was suddenly told that Daimon had died without him knowing it, well, he'd be in shock too.

Still, there was no harm in telling Calbren, right?

"We came here because of Sagi."

Almost immediately, the dining room fell oppresively silent. Kalas could have sworn that the sound of Calbren putting down his fork reverberated in the air for seconds, that's how still it was. Melodia glanced down at her plate, not touching her food, and only Xelha dared to meet his eyes. As for Calbren himself, the old man was staring at him in silence, the shock in his eyes slowly turning to suspicion.

"How did you come across that name?" the old Duke asked, leaning in close, his voice no louder than a whisper.

Kalas shifted uncomfortably, suddenly aware of how piercing the Duke's eyes were. "I found his Guardian Spirit. Marno. He bonded with me and told me to find Sagi here."

"I see." Calbren let out a slow sigh and sat back into his seat, his voice sounding tired and aged. "I never thought I'd hear that name again. Melodia, did you tell them?"

The blue-haired girl gave a small nod. "Marno did, rather," she clarified. "Kalas isn't lying, Grandfather."

"I didn't expect him to." Calbren sighed and turned to look at him again. "So you know-"

"That Sagi is dead, yeah." Kalas folded his arms against the sudden chill that swept through the room. "There's really no point for any more of this, but I'm just curious. I thought your son was Melodia's father."

The old Duke chuckled. "I never had a child. Never married either. Twenty years ago, a young couple fleeing from Alfard sought sanctuary here. I adopted them and gave them aliases so that they could live in Balancoire in peace. Nobody bothered them, and I managed to get someone to inherit my estate if I died. It all worked out pretty well."

"At least, until they died," Xelha spoke up. It was hard to tell what the Ice Queen was thinking, but she was watching Calbren with something akin to pity. Not that Kalas could scoff at that- after what the old man had been through, it must have been hard to open up old wounds again.

"You know what happened after that," the old Duke sighed. "I asked the End Magnus to revive them, and Melodia-"

"Yeah." Kalas saw the way Melodia looked like she was about to shatter into tiny little pieces at the mention of her death and incredulous revival, and frankly, since he didn't know how to deal with weeping girls that almost destroyed the world, he decided it was best not to talk about _that _topic.

Silence persisted in the dining hall for a while, and then suddenly, a voice he was starting to forget even existed echoed in his head.

_"End Magnus?"_

Marno sounded confused, but underlying that confusion was a strange terseness that Kalas found suspicious. It was the first thing he had said all dinner long, and the first thing he had asked about were the End Magnus?

"Yeah, they were pieces of Malpercio that were sealed up in each of the five islands," Kalas responded, garnering a curious glance from Calbren which quickly lit up with understanding.

_"I know about that." _There was that terseness again. _"You asked Malpercio to revive Sagi and Milly?"_

This time the question was directed at the Duke himself, which caught Kalas by surprise, but before he could relay the question to the now-befuddled old man, Melodia spoke up.

"I was the only one that was chosen to be revived," she responded softly, catching everybody's attention. "It was all part of a plan, you see. To use me to revive the ancient god and bring about the foretold destruction of the world."

_"Use you? But why on earth would-"_

Marno fell silent for a while, and Kalas was highly aware of the fact that everyone was staring at him. Well, since Melodia and Xelha could actually hear Marno, he supposed they weren't staring at _him _per se, but still, the fact that all eyes were looking in his direction made him slightly nervous. But if Marno knew of that, the Guardian Spirit wasn't saying so.

And then Marno spoke again. _"Why didn't Malpercio revive Sagi?"_

"Why would he?" Kalas asked, confused. "Malpercio just needed a pawn to play with. Melodia was the easiest to manipulate- no offence," he added quickly, suddenly aware of the fact that Melodia looked like she was about to cry and Xelha was glaring daggers at him, "And he didn't need more than one person alive."

_"That's not right!" _the Guardian Spirit exclaimed.

"Of course it isn't," Kalas snorted. "This is _Malpercio _we're talking about, remember? Look, Marno, this isn't the best conversation to be having right now-"

_"How did Sagi die?" _

Kalas was slightly surprised at the sudden switch of topic, but reminded himself of the fact that Marno was probably grieving and in shock at the time. Quietly, so not to further upset either Melodia or Calbren, he said, "A plague."

_"Oh." _

Marno fell silent after that. The gloom in the air was suffocating by now, and Kalas was starting to regret even agreeing to the Spirit's request to begin with. He had hoped that he would find Sagi, dump the Spirit on him, and bail as soon as possible- not to open a can of worms in the midst of some of the few people in the world that actually liked him.

"Well, that's enough of depressing topics for one night," Calbren announced then, a pleasant smile that Kalas knew to be fake plastered onto his face. "Will you two be staying the night?"

"Oh, we really shouldn't impose on you-" Xelha began, only for Calbren to cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Nonsense. It's really lonely in this great mansion when there's only the two of us. And I'm sure Melodia would appreciate your company."

Kalas sincerely doubted that, considering that the young heiress looked like she was about to start bawling right there and then, but somehow she managed to compose herself long enough to squeak, "Of course." And then she curtsied and ran out of the room as though there were rabid pow on her tail.

"Leave her be," Calbren said, just as Kalas was about to get out of his chair. "It's just been a rough night for her, poor child."

"Yeah," Kalas muttered, all too aware of Marno's complete silence. "She's not the only one."

* * *

The atmosphere in the manor was stiffling. Kalas soon found himself sneaking out of the gate as quietly as he could, though he had no destination in mind. He just had to get away from the thoughts that were beginning to circle in his mind- thoughts of Malpercio, of the End Magnus, of Melodia, and of course, his actions. Thoughts that he could usually suppress everytime he came to visit Balancoire, but not tonight. Not now.

The fact that Marno still had to speak also irked him. It wasn't so much that he wanted to blame the spirit for anything, but the fact that he had no idea what was going through the spirit's head was bugging him. That, and because of Marno, Calbren was now drowning himself in a tankard of wine and Melodia had locked herself up in her room (with sounds of crying, which made Kalas even more nervous about opening the door until a maid pushed her way past him to comfort her young mistress). And as for Xelha... he soon found her standing right in front of him, much to his surprise.

"I thought you'd come here," the blonde witch said, turning to look at him, hardly surprised at the fact that his feet had somehow led him to the bridge spanning the river than ran through the hamlet.

Her smile was enough to make the frustration he felt almost melt away- almost. Enough for him to suppress the urge to snap at the next person to speak to him. With a sigh, he went to join her. "Don't tell me you'd have waited here all night long if I decided to go to bed early."

Xelha huffed and leaned against the railing. "Hardly. It's not like I came here solely because of you, you know."

"Oh yeah?" Kalas smirked, folding his arms. "Then what are you doing here?"

She paused, then glanced up towards the sky in reply. All over the night sky, now that the mist had cleared, vivid sparkling lights glimmered down from above, scattered across a dark canvas. The crescent moon cast a soft glow into the rooftops of the hamlet; mixed in with the warm lights of the houses, Kalas admitted it was a pretty good view.

"Don't you think it's strange?" Xelha asked. "Even though we're on the ground now, the stars don't look any further than they were before."

"_I_ think it'd be strange if they were further away," Kalas replied. "Like everything else we grew used to, you know? Like the wings, the Ocean... With everything vanishing in a poof of smoke, I'm glad that at least the sky's still the same."

Xelha smiled and leaned into him. Her body felt warm against the cool night air, and Kalas knew that the clothes she wore were designed to withstand cold temperatures. Yet, some protective feeling told him to pull her close and treasure the moment, because he would have no idea when the day would come when she wouldn't be there by his side; when the loneliness that pervaded his life after his family died would suddenly return. Even now, he wasn't quite sure whether the love she proclaimed to hold for him would last- after all, there was just so much between them that hadn't been spoken of, hadn't been fully understood. But as long as she was there, Kalas thought, it was as if a fresh breath of life flowed through him, like her very presence made every second worth living for.

"So what're you going to do now?" her voice was soft, and Kalas knew, with a feeling of dread, that she wasn't asking him about whether he was going to return to the mansion just yet.

He shrugged. What _could _he do? He was stuck, really, by the fact that Sagi- the guy he wanted to dump the free-loading spirit off on- was dead. And now he had a moping spirit locked up somewhere in his heart, with no clue whether the guy was even alive in the Guardian-Spirit-sense of the word, and stuck in Mira with Xelha as they watched the night sky. Although he didn't really mind that last bit.

"Hey, Marno, you there?" he asked into the night air.

Nothing. No response.

He shrugged. "Looks like there's not much I can do. Guess I'll head home and twiddle my fingers for a while and if this guy-" he jerked a thumb into the air- "doesn't speak after a week or so, I'll just... return to doing something else."

"In which case you mean moping all alone in Georg's cabin." Xelha clicked her tongue in distaste. "You can't keep hiding, you know."

"Who said anything about me hiding?" he yelped. "I'm just not interested in butting heads with guys who think I'm about to go nuts every time I so much as breathe!"

"Hiding," Xelha repeated. "You feel guilty and you don't want people to hate you for your mistakes. But you don't want to face the people who actually do that."

"Who would?" Kalas sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "They're going to hate me one way or another, and even if I apologize, nothing's going to change their minds, and they would be completely justified. Not everyone's so forgiving after watching the people they love die, Xelha. Especially if their murderer is celebrated as a hero and gets off scot free."

She sighed. They had this conversations multiple times before, and after exhausting all her possible arguments (which never budged Kalas one bit), even Xelha had to know it was time to call it quits. Kalas knew she meant well and all, but nothing she said would make the bad memories go away. Well, at least until she found another angle of attack. Not that he was counting on that.

"You shouldn't keep thinking like that, you know," she muttered reprovingly. "Just like there are people that hate you, there are those that wish you wouldn't shut yourself up so often. You'll only end up making everybody else sad."

He nodded, but those words, repeated a hundred times like some sort of mantra Xelha had invented to keep him from losing himself- or for her to stop losing her trust in him- washed over him like a chill breeze. He _knew _that, just as she knew that, no matter how many times she tried to help him, she couldn't. Not this time.

She shivered and clung closer to him, and he was aware that the temperature had continued to chill drastically. Mira, far from the rest of the world as it was, had fluctuating temperatures as well as environments, and while Kalas was used to it, Xelha wasn't. "You should go inside," he said quietly.

Her green eyes, wary and haunting as always, stared up at him. "Don't worry," he said with a chuckle. "I'm not going to run off anywhere. I just need to clear my thoughts, you know?"

She eyed him for a moment, chewing her lip, before she nodded. "Just don't do anything reckless," she murmured.

"Same goes to you, Your Majesty," Kalas snarked.

Xelha shot him a mock glare, then with a final, exasperated sigh, she disentangled herself from his embrace and made her way back towards the manor. The chill air quickly decided that now was the prime oppurtunity to batter Kalas senseless, and he sort-of regretted telling Xelha to head back without him. But she was probably still there, watching him as she made her way back, and his pride was really in no position to turn tail now.

He sighed heavily, glad that nobody else was around to ask why was there a cloaked guy standing on a bridge staring moodily into the river- they would probably have taken it the wrong way and attempted to drag him off the bridge. And while his thoughts were filled with the general chaos of everything going on, no solution came to mind. He glanced back up at the stars, and in a brief moment, he wondered whether some higher power was watching him.

"Not likely," he figured. Though something about the stars made him wonder just exactly how much of the world was going to stay the same, after all that had happened. So much had already changed, so much would continue to change. Even he, affected by the events more heavily than most, had undergone some sort of change throughout his adventure. Or at least, he hoped so.

And then, just as he was starting to get used to the quiet scene and the gentle moonlight, just as his thoughts started drifting into other, less-serious matters, his peace was shattered by a single sentance that rocked the entire scene like a sledgehammer through glass.

_"I think we need to talk."_

Kalas groaned. "Glad to know you're still alive, Marno," he muttered. All at once, the headache that he thought had disappeared during his talk with Xelha came rushing back with a vengeance.

_"Sorry about that," _the spirit murmured in return. _"I just had a lot to think about, is all."_

"No kidding." Kalas couldn't help but smirk slightly at the understatement. Depressed or not, at least the spirit still had enough spunk to crack a joke, which was slightly surprising- in a good way. He had no idea how to deal with depressed people, or anything else involving cheering people up, but at least Marno was not exactly what he had expected- though, perhaps he should have expected that. "How're you holding up, though? You just had your entire mission torn to shreds, after all."

_"You're a real sympathetic ear, aren't you?" _the Guardian Spirit sighed. _"I'm fine, thanks for... asking. I still don't remember how Sagi died, or how he lived those last years of his life, or how things were, but I'm... fine."_

"I doubt that," he muttered softly, hoping the spirit was distracted enough not to hear. In a louder voice, he asked, remembering Xelha's words, "So what now?"

Marno fell silent again, and Kalas wondered if he had dazed off for good this time, ending their predicament entirely, before the spirit said in a hushed, broken tone, _"I'm not sure. I've always been with Sagi. Without him, it feels as though there's something missing. As if there's something wrong with the world. By all accounts, I shouldn't have- No."_

"No?" Kalas echoed. Through the faint bond with the spirit, he could feel a tumultuous wave of emotions, as if he were wrestling with several thoughts at once.

_"There were... circumstances," _Marno finally said. _"Experiments, carried out by the Alfard Empire. I should not have been able to be seperated from Sagi, in life or in death. When he died- _I _should have died. But I didn't. I'm here. And somehow, you're my spiriter. And that shouldn't have happened." _Marno breathed heavily, as if he were sorting out his thoughts, and continued, slowly; deliberately, _"Sagi was a special case. But because of those experiments, I should not have been able to bond with you."_

"Experiments?" Kalas echoed cautiously, trying his best to keep his rein on the sudden flood of anger in his heart and the cold shivers that ran down his spine. He had just asked the spirit whether he was alright out of simple courtesy, and did not, for even a minute, expected to be suddenly deluged with information about more suspicious Alfardian experiments. As if he didn't have enough reasons to never ever return to the Alfard Empire (even if Lyude did promise him that he had already banned all illegal experimentation and locked all the mad scientists in jail at least six months ago).

_"It's probably not all that important," _Marno said breezily. _"Nevertheless, what I'm trying to say is that- this shouldn't have happened. None of this should have happened."_

"Well, fat load of good that does us." Kalas couldn't help the acerbic edge that happened to slip into his tone; his annoyance at the way the Guardian Spirit seemed to dance around the subject. "You still haven't said anything about what we should do. Your spiriter is dead, and I... don't really have a need for a Guardian Spirit anymore. We could go our seperate ways, forget about any of this. Maybe you'll find your destiny somehow, somewhere. Return to Nekhton until someone comes and finds you. There's bound to be problems within the next century or so and a young spiriter might need an... uh... upstanding Guardian Spirit like you someday."

He wasn't sure what kind of an answer he was expecting. He knew that the Guardian Spirit didn't like him that much, and neither did he. Moreover, there were way too many secrets surrounding Marno that made him feel uncomfortable having the spirit in his heart. And now, experimentations? Being bound to a spiriter through life and death? The prospect of that freaked him out a little too much, just as much as that odd creepy vibe he was getting from their conversation. Something inside him knew, instinctively, that if he continued with this path any longer, something _bad _would happen. And Kalas didn't really didn't need more bad things happening to him; not now.

So he hoped that Marno would concede and leave his heart. It probably would have been better for them both, he found himself thinking. Like he told Xelha, he could go back to living his own life, without any of this 'Guardian Spirit' nonsense bugging him anymore. He had more than enough of destiny and crap to last a lifetime, and he was still paying the price for it now. He wasn't a good spiriter, having caused more trouble for Daimon than aid; he wasn't even a good person. And he knew that throughout the day, somehow, Marno must have picked at least some of that up.

The Guardian Spirit was a fool, but he was perceptive. Kalas knew that instinctively as well.

So it came as a major surprise that, after but a short moment's consideration, the Guardian Spirit said, _"No."_

It was firm, possibly the most straightforward answer he had ever heard emanating from Marno's proverbial lips. There was no hesitation, no underlying current of doubt. Something fully convinced the Guardian Spirit of this course of action, and that only befuddled Kalas all the more.

"Why?" he choked out, more than just a teeny bit enraged.

_"Plenty of reasons," _Marno said. _"First of which being- you're the only person right now that I can bond with. I searched the entire world before I found you. Before you, nobody else could see me or even _sense _me. Second, if I really am a... a G-Guardian Spirit, and you really are a spiriter, there must be some sort of destiny we have to fulfill. At least, that's what the ancient legends say. Now, I know you were involved in the whole Malpercio incident last year," _he cut in before Kalas could protest, his observation knocking the winds out of the young man's sails for a moment, _"how deeply you were involved; I don't know. However, what I do know was that it wasn't mere coincidence that brought us together. I believe there is another destiny- a seperate destiny- which calls to us both. You know that, somewhere deep inside your heart. Just as I know that you know that. Third..."_

"Third?" Kalas prompted, uncertain as to how else to proceed when suddenly the previously-meek spirit sounded so _authorative. _And he was _right. _Forget instinct, now Kalas knew that Marno was paying a lot more attention to what was going on than he let on_. _And a part of him- no small part- found himself drawn into the spirit's words, and Kalas soon found a nagging doubt in his heart. What if what Marno said was true? What if it truly was destiny- destiny which had ruined his life; which would most likely ruin it again, if he didn't turn tail and run right now?

_"I'm sorry," _Marno muttered softly, the strength in his voice wavering slightly. _"I'm not used to trusting anyone that's not... you know."_

"Uh, no worries."

_"Well, third of all- something else came to me when you were talking to... to Duke Calbren," _the spirit muttered, his voice fearful and yet, if Kalas tried to describe it, he would have said it sounded _dark. _

If Kalas had known then that what he was getting into would irreversibly shatter his life apart, he probably would have just said 'no' right there and then. If Kalas had known how his fate was so deeply interwoven into Marno's, into Sagi's, he would probably have at least attempted to smack the spirit around for a bit before pulling it out of his heart.

But Kalas didn't know that. Not yet. And so, he asked, not knowing that that single word would seal the bargain, "What?"

Marno paused. If he knew of what destiny planned for them, he didn't say. Instead, in an equally soft tone, he said, almost regretfully, _"Sagi... didn't die natually. Something else murdered him. Something else is at work in the world. And the reason why we're both here, now, is because I failed to stop it."_

At that moment, something clicked. And with a small groan, Kalas knew that destiny had got him in its grasp once again.

* * *

... I wonder if the characters are OOC, although I tried my best to keep them as IC as possible. Oh well. Any feedback would be welcome, and hey look, I updated quicker this time.

No promises when my next update will be though.

Read and review and stuff and such.


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